Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Preliminary Material / Edith Sylla and Michael McVaugh -- Eudoxan Astronomy And Aristotelian Holism In The Physics / Jean de Groot -- The Latin Sources Of Quadrans Vetus, And What They Imply For Its Authorship And Date / †Wilbur R. Knorr -- Roger Bacon's De Laudibus Mathematicae. A Preliminary Study / George Molland -- What Really Happened On 7 March 1277? Bishop Tempier's Condemnation And Its Institutional Context / J. M. M. H. Thussen -- Armengaud Blaise As A Translator Of Galen / Michael R. McVaugh -- The Meanings Of Natural Diversity: Marco Polo On The "Division" Of The World / Katharine Park -- Thomas Bradwardine's De Continuo And The Structure Of Fourteenth-Century Learning / Edith D. Sylla -- Nicole Oresme, Aristotle's On The Heavens, And The Court Of Charles V / Edward Grant -- Charles V, Nicole Oresme, And Christine De Pizan: Unities And Uses Of Knowledge In Fourteenth-Century France / Joan Cadden -- Academic Consulting In Fifteenth-Century Vienna: The Case Of Astrology / Michael H. Shank -- Domingo De Soto's "Laws" Of Motion: Text And Context / William A. Wallace -- Art, Nature, And Experiment Among Some Aristotelian Alchemists / William R. Newman -- Index Codicum / Edith Sylla and Michael McVaugh -- General Index / Edith Sylla and Michael McVaugh.

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These studies respond to the challenge posed twenty years ago by John E. Murdoch, in whose honor they have been assembled: to interpret ancient and medieval mathematical and scientific texts not just as isolated intellectual productions but as responses to particular settings or contexts. Two broad settings are explored here: that of the wider intellectual culture, where relations among mathematics, astronomy, natural philosophy - and also theology, logic and astrology - are shown to have shaped individual texts; and the context of lay society, where institutional structures, patronage, even personal relationships impinged upon scientific writing. The volume reinforces the growing recognition that ancient and medieval scientific texts "made a difference" to their authors and audiences and must be understood in relation to topics like disciplinary identity, career advancement, lay interest, and practical applicability. Publications by John E. Murdoch : Edited by Christoph Lüthy, John E. Murdoch and William R. Newman , Late Medieval and Early Modern Corpuscular Matter Theories , ISBN : 978 90 04 11516 3